Are you Struggling with Motivation

Are you Struggling with Motivation

– “I just can’t get into the right mood to go to the gym,” my client Jacob sighed and looked at me with a little hopeful smile and asked “can you make me want to exercise more?”

It’s something we can all relate to at times, we make these promises, feel the energy surge through us of hope at reaching our goals and then find that energy dwindling away after a good start. Guilt and frustration take over as we routinely beat ourselves up at failing yet again.

If you struggle with this too then the answer for you just like many of my clients could be very simple, it’s down to energy mismanagement.

Doing a quick assessment of my clients day often shows how much energy is wasted or mismanaged. It’s no wonder when it comes to something that requires quite a lot of it like exercise the brain simply creates excuses and feelings not to go so you conserve energy instead. Remember that our number one priority in each moment is safety and we need energy reserves for any possible dangers our future may hold.

Recharge!

If you think of yourself like a smartphone, the amount you use it will determine how much you need to plug it in to recharge. 21st Century western folk mostly suck at recharging, we over stimulate ourselves mentally, eat, drink and sleep badly and glorify productivity to the point where simply relaxing can make us feel guilty. No wonder we struggle with things we really want to do!

You only have finite energy and demanding that you go the gym after a day of draining yourself is only going to get your brain to rebel to try and get some energy back, not spend more!

Failure Cycle

We feel motivated when we have a surplus of energy and something valuable we want to experience. This is why people feel motivated to make life changes during holiday seasons because they have relaxed more than they normally do and they get time to think about what they really want their life to be like. Unless your daily energy management is assessed and changed life will always feel that much harder as the clarity, focus and productivity you want for a better life is in short supply as theres not enough energy to make it happen. The failure cycle begins again!

Here are my top tips for energy management:

A regular good sleeping pattern is vital

Relax in the evening, warm baths are fantastic for your brain

Check your hydration levels

Slow down your daily pace of life

Assess and make healthy changes to your diet

Your brain needs time to recharge so a break should mean a break! Get away from that desk and get some fresh air.
Limit social media, tv time or second screening if watching tv. Over simulating the mind is wasting energy.

Country walks, seaside visits relax the mind as there’s less for the mind to have to take in.

Learn to manage your thoughts with mindfulness and diaphragmatic breathe to take pressure off the brain.

Hobbies, helping people and more fun times are vital for good brain chemistry.

Work through those conscious or unconscious rules you have about free time which may be reducing your quality of life.

Ask yourself “what do I want my life to be about?” Look at your values and add some quality to your day no matter how small. Is it time to wake up and stop being so boring?

When are you most recharged and can you invest in that time of day to go to the gym or do the tasks which would add much more value to your life?

Assessing your energy management could be one of the most important things you do. If you want to exercise or invest in any activity to improve the quality of your life then you need energy.

Learn to recharge or eventually burn yourself out, the choice really is yours.

2 Comments

You need to motivate yourself to make your body move and groove. The most common mistake for me is that you get to compare yourself to other people. No, that only makes you feel humiliated only because you think they are better than you.. and then you start having lesser and lesser drive at all. What we need is to explore really good workout routines, and we need to inspire ourselves with those so we can start working out consistently.

You need to motivate yourself to make your body move and groove. The most common mistake for me is that you get to compare yourself to other people. No, that only makes you feel humiliated only because you think they are better than you.. and then you start having lesser and lesser drive at all. What we need is to explore really good workout routines, and we need to inspire ourselves with those so we can start working out consistently.